Motoring journalists are finally being given the chance to drive the massively exciting Aston Martin Valkyrie, and Top Gear’s Chris Harris was among the first. Despite the car’s impressive abilities, it isn’t as uncomplicatedly good as you might expect.
Even with a mic attached to his helmet, it’s hard to hear Harris speak over the raucous clattering and shrieking of the 1,160 hp (865 kW/1,176 PS), naturally aspirated (albeit electrically assisted) V12 engine in a recent video. Bolted directly to the carbon tub, the Valkyrie prefers to overwhelm its driver with its engine compared to, say, the Bugatti Chiron.
Unlike the French car, which despite its massive engine, its ridiculous cylinder count, and its obscene price tag, is still a luxury car designed primarily for public roads, Harris says that he isn’t sure if he could handle the Valkyrie on the street, though it legally has a right to drive there. Surprisingly, even on the track, Harris seems a little unsure about the Valkyrie.
Read: Go For A Ride In The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro With F1 Driver Nico Hulkenberg
“It’s a bit overwhelming. Just the amount of vibration and noise in here. Just feels like the engine is bolted to my bum,” he explains, barely audibly. “It’s got such a clever hydraulic suspension system, it’s managing so much of what I’m doing that I’m lacking a bit of connection. The sense of mass, as well, it doesn’t feel, necessarily, as light as I thought it would.”
Even more alarmingly, its arrival coincides with the arrival of something even faster. The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro is a track-only version of the car that is so thoroughly improved that it shares only the engine and the headlights with the road car.
With racecar-level aerodynamics, a simpler suspension system, and less weight to lug around, it is, in almost every regard, the faster and more pleasurable car to drive. Whereas, for the normal Valkyrie, “you need to settle into the way it wants to go around the circuit,” the AMR Pro version is, simply put, “driving nirvana.”
Despite that, though, Harris admits that the street-legal Aston Martin Valkyrie is the more impressive car. Built to actually achieve something (unlike the AMR Pro, which will never compete), the supercar tests the limits of what a road car can do.
“I’m glad the Valkyrie exists,” says Harris. “But I’m left frustrated with the knowledge that there’s a truly history changing vehicle just waiting to be unlocked from underneath that extraordinary body work.”